Is the devil real?

What do you think?

Originally posted by Gascraft
What do you think?

No.

Originally posted by rwingett
No.

ditto

Man created the idea of the devil..

I do believe evil exists, but only in people's minds.

Originally posted by pawnhandler
ditto

Does belief in God dictate belief in the Devil? I believe in God but not in the Devil.

Originally posted by Varqa
Does belief in God dictate belief in the Devil? I believe in God but not in the Devil.

good for you

Originally posted by Gascraft
What do you think?

Yes, the devil exists. Without the Bible, though, we'd probably never know it before it was too late.

Originally posted by epiphinehas
Yes, the devil exists. Without the Bible, though, we'd probably never know it before it was too late.

Where is he? If your answer is "hell" where is that?

Originally posted by pawnhandler
Where is he? If your answer is "hell" where is that?

The devil is here, with us on earth:

"Now there was a day when the angels of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, From where did you come? Then Satan answered the Lord, From going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it" (Job 1:6-7). Other translations say: "Satan answered the Lord, I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on" (Job 1:7).

The devil is not cast into hell until the end of God's age of grace, 'judgment day':

"Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10).

Originally posted by pawnhandler
Where is he? If your answer is "hell" where is that?

"Satan disguises himself as an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14).

"You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God" (Ephesians 2:2).

"If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God" (2 Corinthians 4:3-5).

"And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season" (Luke 4:13).

"And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night" (Revelation 12:10).

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy" (John 10:10).

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The devil is a spirit, the god of this world, commander of the powers (other fallen angels) of the unseen world, who is able to disguise himself as an angel of light and blind the minds of those who don't believe in Jesus Christ, so they will neither be able to see Christ's gloriousness nor understand Christ's message.

What makes the devil so evil is not simply that his goal is to deceive, steal, kill and destroy human beings; separating them from their Creator. What makes the devil so despicably evil is how he uses God's law against us: the devil is both tempter and accuser. He tempts people to break God's law, then accuses them before the Lord.

The devil an angel of light....

Hmmm.. by that it would be reasonable his home on earth would be amongst those who choose God(or is that the other way around).

Take this a little further and I get to the body of Christ. If the devil is a part of this body(i.e. hiding in amongst it all to gain oil), then it's logical to assume that trying to create or portray what one may see as good within the body could well be wrong and cause damage to many people's lives without realisation. I get confused at what approach Christians should take....

Originally posted by epiphinehas
"Satan disguises himself as an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14).

"You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God" (Ephesians 2:2).

"If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidde ...[text shortened]... cuser. He tempts people to break God's law, then accuses them before the Lord.

well god must know this in advance

Originally posted by Gascraft
What do you think?

no, the only evil is the evil we create within our own minds... i mean, come on, devil, hell, punishment if you're bad... sounds like a scary childrens bedtime story to me

Originally posted by Gascraft
The devil an angel of light....

Hmmm.. by that it would be reasonable his home on earth would be amongst those who choose God(or is that the other way around).

Take this a little further and I get to the body of Christ. If the devil is a part of this body(i.e. hiding in amongst it all to gain oil), then it's logical to assume that trying to create or ...[text shortened]... people's lives without realisation. I get confused at what approach Christians should take....

Christians can take this apprach, for this the ultimate message;
Act in love (not for oil!)
Whichever way you look at it 'tis not possiable for Satan/the devil/evil to act in love because God is love and therefore Satan is hate, caculated and immence hate.
Bush deludes himself if he realy beleives 'twas a war for God!!

Originally posted by Gascraft
The devil an angel of light....

Hmmm.. by that it would be reasonable his home on earth would be amongst those who choose God(or is that the other way around).

Take this a little further and I get to the body of Christ. If the devil is a part of this body(i.e. hiding in amongst it all to gain oil), then it's logical to assume that trying to create or ...[text shortened]... people's lives without realisation. I get confused at what approach Christians should take....

Hmmm.. by that it would be reasonable his home on earth would be amongst those who choose God(or is that the other way around).

You're right. One of the devil's ploys is the infiltration of God's church, in order to defame the church and thereby keep people from the Truth. Read the context of 2 Corinthians 11:14:

"But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours. These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve" (2 Corinthians 11:12-15).

"But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered" (2 Peter 2:1-2).